Distance to bench edge for Classic Turret?

[sinbad339]

I'm planning on building a bench for my soon to be acquired Lee Classic Turret press, and have a concern about a stiffener for the front edge of the bench in relation to mounting the press. I have the mounting template for the Lee Classic Turret Press
http://www.leeprecision.com/cgi-data/instruct/TMPCTP.pdf

From looking at pictures of the mounted press, it does not appear to me that the front edge of the template is in line with where the front edge of the bench that the press would be mounted to. The distance from the "front" of the template to the front hole centers is shown as 0.526" in the drawing. From online pictures, it appears that the distance between bench edge and the center of the front mounting holes is greater than this. Can anyone provide approximately what this dimension is?

Thanks in advance,

John

 

[tightgroup tiger]

You probably have to stand the press off the bench some to allow for the moving parts to not contact the front of the bench.

You can't always just shove the press up against the front of the bench and you'll see why when you receive it and set it on the bench. Even though the ram goes straight up and down the linkage that move it may cant inwards as the ram is raised.
My last new press looked like this also until I received it and set it on the bench, then all questions were answered as soon as I worked the lever.

Be patient, and wait until your press comes, the templet is usually right. I wouldn't finish the top of the bench until the press got there, it I were doing it, and discover the header under the front of the bench top is in the way. I would want to know that I could use nuts and bolts to secure it instead of lag bolts, they don't work for holding down a press in pine.

 

[Rule3]

I just measured mine and it is about .60" from the edge of the plywood top to the center of the front two bolts. The press has a recess or indent. Just shove it against the edge mark the holes and drill. Just as the template shows.

Guess I really do not understand your question? It just butts up to the edge and then 3 bolts. If your top is 3/4" or more you are fine, all that will matter is the length of the bolts, I used carriage bolts from the bottom with nylon lock nuts on top.

Wait till you get the press. much easier.

 

[joecil]

Mine mounts on the bench (Lee Bench Plate) about 3.75" with about 2.75 hanging off the bench edge and does extend below the bench. It uses 3 bolts in the front to mount and shouldn't interfere with a top mounted flush with a support under the bench. I hope that is clear and understandable.

 

[sinbad339]

Thanks for the replies all.

I just measured mine and it is about .60" from the edge of the plywood top to the center of the front two bolts. The press has a recess or indent. Just shove it against the edge mark the holes and drill. Just as the template shows.

Rule3 - That sounds consistent with the indication on the template. My plan is to use 1 1/2" angle steel along the front edge of the bench for stiffness. I think this will still work by just drilling through the bench and the steel for the front mounting holes. The other option I considered was a 1x4 along the bottom of that edge, but that would mean lag bolting into that edge, and I want to be able to repeatedly mount and remove the press.

I'm planning on running a stiffener from front to back under the bench as well and I think this is probably more important given the tilting moment when the press is operated. That's why I don't want to move the side-to-side stiffener back between the front mounting bolts and the rear bolt.

... mayby I'm overthinking this...

 

[leadchucker]

There is a radius on the corner of the press body that hangs over the edge of the table. This radius will prevent you from placing the press completely up against the edge of the table. There are no moving parts to get in the way. Unless you radius the top edge of the table, you probably should not drill the front mounting holes more than about 5/8 inch from the edge of the table.

My table top is two pieces of 3/4 inch plywood sandwiched together. Instead of a stiffener, I would suggest doing something like that. I drilled the front mounting holes 3/4 inch from the front edge, and didn't have any mounting problems. That number is not critical. You could probably get by with putting those holes a half inch from the edge, as long as the top is a good sturdy material. Use plywood, and not particle board.

 

[joecil]

I would download the PDF file from FS Reloading or Lee sites for the bench plate and go by that as to how far it will move onto the bench surface. Both the bench plate and hole patterns are full size and meant to be used to mark holes to drill for a given press (has all of the Lee presses marked). The base plate mounts about almost flush with the edge of the bench as shown here though a different press the same bolt patter with common setup as the Turret being a Lee Classic Cast.

 

[Ken70]

Stick a 4x4 vertically under the table that touches the floor. Now the effort of you pushing down on the handle will be directed into the 4x4. You could shim it tight or a couple of screws thru the table top into the top of the 4x4.

Makes the bench really stable.